LITMIR.BIZ

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help the unexpected butterflies that took wing in the pit of her stomach when Clay’s bright blue king-cab pickup pulled up in the driveway. She grabbed her purse and corralled the kids outside before he could even step out of his vehicle.

      “Hey.” He greeted them with that smile that flashed his dimples and seemed to brighten the air around him. “Are you all ready for some fun?”

      “Definitely,” she said, but her voice was drowned out by Henry and Jenny shouting with their excitement.

      It took only minutes to get the kids settled in the back and her in the passenger seat. She was definitely ready for some fun. It had been a long week with her students stressed over finals and acting out in ridiculous ways.

      “You look mighty pretty,” he said as he started the truck.

      “Thank you.” He looked mighty fine himself, clad in jeans and a black long-sleeved polo shirt that clung to his muscles and enhanced his blond hair. He smelled good, too. The fragrance of minty soap and a clean, fresh cologne wafted from him and filled the interior of the truck.

      “I hope you don’t mind, but when we first get there I’d like to find Halena and Mary’s booth,” she said. “My mother is helping them out tonight and wanted us all to stop by.”

      “That’s not a problem. I always enjoy visiting with your mom, and Halena is usually a real hoot,” he replied.

      As they traveled to the old rodeo grounds just on the outskirts of town, the conversation remained light. Miranda felt herself beginning to relax, although the butterflies continued to swirl in the pit of her stomach each time she glanced at him.

      Of all the men in Bitterroot, why did Clay Madison have to be the one to give her butterflies? He was the antithesis of what she wanted in a man...if she’d been in the market for a man...which she wasn’t.

      She was grateful when they reached the fairgrounds where the musical sound of the carousal battled with the barkers who urged people to throw a ball or flip a ring or toss a dart for a big prize.

      The scents of cotton candy, sizzling hot dogs and freshly popped popcorn rode the evening air. The sounds and the smells made any deep thoughts impossible.

      “Will you ride the carousal with me, Mr. Clay?” Henry asked as they walked toward the festivities. “I want to ride it and pretend I’m a cowboy riding the range.”

      Clay laughed and threw his arm around Henry’s shoulders. “I’d be honored to ride with you, partner.”

      It should be Hank throwing his arm around his son, Miranda thought, but Hank would rather wrap his arms around a bottle of gin. However, Miranda had long ago become resigned to Hank’s shortcomings and she tried to be both mother and father to her kids.

      Still, she didn’t want her son to get too close to Clay. She didn’t want Henry to get hurt by any man. It was bad enough that Hank continued to disappoint his son on a regular basis.

      Although she would love for Henry to have a good, strong male role model in his life, there was no way that man would be Romeo Clay Madison.

      As they joined the throngs of people, she couldn’t help but remember all the reasons she was wary of Clay and his reputation.

      “Evening, Clay,” Bonnie Abrahams said from their left as they walked toward Mary and Halena’s booth. Bonnie toyed with a strand of her long, bleached hair and batted her false eyelashes. “Miranda,” she added with another flip of her hair.

      “Hi, Bonnie,” Clay replied with his easy smile. “Did you ever get that old car up and running?”

      “Larry down at the garage fixed me up and it’s now purring like a kitten,” Bonnie said.

      Clay turned to Miranda. “Bonnie has a sweet 1969 Mustang convertible. I tried to help get it running for her.” He grinned ruefully. “I can easily rope a cow, but I’m sure no mechanic.”

      “Still, you know I really appreciated you trying to help me out,” Bonnie replied.

      As they continued on their way to Mary and Halena’s booth, Clay was greeted by more women. “Is there any female in this town you don’t know?” Miranda finally asked.

      Clay laughed. “I’m sure there are a few. What can I say? I spend a lot of time in town when I’m not working on the ranch. I hang out at the café or at the Watering Hole and so I meet a lot of people. And I’m sure I know as many men as I do women.” He flashed his charming smile. “I’m a friendly kind of guy.”

      Thankfully, by that time they had reached Mary and Halena’s booth. The kids ran toward Miranda’s mother, who embraced them both in a group hug.

      Mary looked first at Miranda and then at Clay, her beautiful features radiating more than a touch of surprise. Clay greeted her with a hug and then approached Halena and hugged her, as well.

      “And aren’t you two a surprise,” Halena said. “Clay, you’d better treat her right. She’s a good woman.” Halena reached up and straightened her hat, a creation of pink and red silk flowers with a miniature Ferris wheel among the blooms. The Choctaw woman was known for her outlandish hats, among other things.

      “Oh, it isn’t like that,” Miranda said hurriedly. “Clay has been helping Henry with baseball and he really wanted Clay to come with us tonight, but Clay and I...we aren’t together. It’s nothing like that.”

      “Hmm, too bad. You make a good-looking couple,” Halena replied. “I’m still waiting for the man who will make me part of a good-looking couple. But you two really should be a couple.” She turned on her moccasins and began to straighten a rack full of colorful clothing.

      “How’s business?” Miranda asked Mary, eager for a change of topic.

      “As you can see, it’s a little slow right now, but tomorrow will be our big day,” she replied. “Still, it should pick up some in the next couple of hours or so.”

      “We’d better sell a lot because I need some new hats,” Halena said.

      Mary rolled her eyes. “My grandmother needs a new hat like I need a pet pig.”

      “Can we get a pet pig, Mom?” Henry asked.

      “Absolutely not,” Miranda replied.

      “Can we get a dog?” he asked.

      Miranda shook her head. “Not right now.”

      “Then can we go get some hot dogs? I’m starving.”

      She laughed. “That we can do.”

      They said their goodbyes to Mary, Halena and Miranda’s mother, and then they headed for the closest place to get something to eat.

      The crowd had grown while they’d been visiting. They were almost to the hot dog booth when they ran into Hank and Lori. “Daddy!” The kids greeted him by running to him and hugging him.

      “What have we here?” Hank asked as his gaze shot from Miranda to Clay. Miranda could tell he’d been drinking, not only by the bleary look in his eyes but also by the gruff belligerence in his voice. “I warned you about this cowboy, Miranda. What in the hell are you doing here with him?”

      “Hank, whatever issues you have with me...now is not the time,” Clay replied calmly. He looked pointedly at the two kids, who had crept closer to Miranda’s side.

      Lori grabbed Hank’s arm. “Come on, Hank. You promised me a ride on the Ferris wheel. Let’s go take that ride.”

      Hank grumbled beneath his breath and glared at them one more time, and then thankfully Lori managed to pull him away.

      “Come on, kids. Let’s go get some hot dogs,” Clay said, breaking the tension with his easy grin.

      Miranda smiled at him, grateful that he hadn’t gone all macho and added to what could have been a difficult situation with Hank. Within minutes Hank was forgotten

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